iPhone OS is on perpetual lockdown. Android hacking's boring, considering the platform's Linux credentials. It's webOS, Palm's Linux-based OS, where some of the best gratuitous, for-the-hell-of-it hacking is taking place nowadays. Exhibit A: OpenOffice, running on a Pre. A Pre!

Right, so you've got to root your phone, install the entire UI system that Linux typically runs on, and install a new Windows manager. As is, the hack isn't something most people will be able to try, which is fine, because it doesn't really do much—it's a proof of concept.

But! But. Imagine if you could port any Linux application to the Pre. A music player, a video player (with a gajillion codecs, like VLC), or as seen above OpenOffice, albeit with a custom interface. Once the installation routine is simplified, this is all within the realm of possibility, which is a hell of a value-add for webOS users who're worried the development is going to stall for their lovely—but possibly doomed—OS. [PreCentral via Mobiputing]